"(Smith) does it all on the court," said Crawford, a former
Bull. "He blocks shots. He rebounds, he gets steals, he scores,
he assists. He's a wonderful player and a great teammate."

He didn't do it alone, though.

Marvin Williams had 18 points as Atlanta pulled away down the
stretch after its 18-point, second-quarter lead dwindled to five
early in the fourth.

Williams scored seven points during a 9-0 run following a basket
by Chicago's Derrick Rose, making it 94-79 midway through the
fourth quarter and breaking open a six-point game.

Rose led the Bulls with 24 points despite missing most of the
first quarter after hurting his right knee. But it was a long
night for a team that had won eight of 11.

Smith delivered his fourth straight double-double for the Hawks,
after getting 22 points and 15 rebounds the previous night in an
overtime win over Milwaukee.

The Hawks outrebounded the Bulls 63-37.

"I'm playing with a chip on my shoulder, however, I know it's
most important to win," Smith said, when asked about getting
passed over for the All-Star game. "I am focused on winning all
of them from here on out."

Al Horford added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Joe
Johnson scored 14 points, 12 in the first quarter as the Hawks
grabbed a 34-23 lead, after getting nine during the overtime
against the Bucks.

Already missing center Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis in his
left foot) and forward Luol Deng (swollen left knee), the Bulls
got a big scare 4 1/2 minutes into the game.

Rose, who banged his left knee late in Saturday's game at
Indiana, came up clutching his right one after Atlanta's Mike
Bibby collided with him while trying to pick off a pass.

"It's still hurting a little bit," Rose said. "The force of him
just running into me is still getting to my knees. Yesterday it
was kind of to the side of my knee. This time, it was right on
the side of my kneecap. It hurt, but I tried to fight through
it."

The Bulls simply couldn't afford to lose another top player, but
even when Rose came back, they had trouble sustaining a run for
much of the game against the Eastern Conference's third-place
team.

It was a tough start to a brutal stretch for the Bulls, who host
Memphis, Dallas and Utah before visiting Orlando, Miami, Memphis
and Dallas. When they return to the United Center on March 19,
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will be there to greet
them.

It would help if they had their second-leading scorer (Deng) and
top rebounder (Noah). Without them, the Bulls were overmatched
up front.

"We have to get Joakim and Luol back," coach Vinny Del Negro
said. "Atlanta is a very athletic, strong front line. They are
young and they have hurt us before. Obviously, that was the
difference in the game. They would miss and go get it and
control the tempo of the game."

With two top players out and Rose missing time in the early
going, the Hawks stayed in control for most of the game. They
led by 18 in the second quarter and never were threatened until
late in the third, when the Bulls started an 8-2 run.

A short jumper by Jannero Pargo and a fast-break layup by Flip
Murray off a steal made it 75-68. Pargo then started the fourth
quarter with an 18-footer, and after a jump hook by Horford,
Hakim Warrick scored to make it 77-72.

"We're a deep ballclub this year," Smith said.

NOTES: Noah does not expect to be back this week but hopes to be
"able to play when it matters," even if he's not 100 percent. He
missed seven straight games at one point in February because of
his foot problem. ... Del Negro expects Deng to return Thursday
against Memphis. James Johnson started in his place and had nine
points. ... Taj Gibson had 13 rebounds for Chicago. ...
Atlanta's 63 rebounds were a season-high.